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Living Expenses

Some students may borrow additional educational loans to assist with off-campus living expenses or for indirect expenses, such as books and supplies. As the student’s payments, grants, and loan funds are received by the College, they are credited (or disbursed) to the student’s account. Once all direct costs are paid, any financial aid or payment received over the amount due will create a credit. Once students are showing an actual credit on their account, they may request a refund.

In general, you should not rely on refunds for living expenses until first week of October at the earliest for the fall semester, and second week of February for the spring semester.

Refund Process

To request a refund, students should log into eCommon and click on View Bill. If a refund is available to the student, a "refund" button will appear below the billing details. If there is no "refund" button, then a refund is not available.

NOTE: The student account belongs to the student regardless of who makes payments on the bill. The student is the only person authorized to request a refund from his or her student account, regardless of who has made the payment. Students can monitor their accounts while waiting for an actual credit to appear by viewing their bill via eCommon.

Financial Aid Cost of Attendance Appeal

A student may have higher off-campus expenses than Emerson College's Office of Financial Aid has calculated. In these instances, the student may appeal to have his or her cost of attendance (a.k.a budget) re-evaluated. To file an appeal, the student must provide documentation of all off-campus expenses (rent, food, utilities, etc.) and submit this to:

Emerson does not give allowances for such things as cable TV, health club memberships, unpaid credit card bills, etc. as these are considered discretionary expenses. Also, if a student wants to appeal for funds to buy a computer, federal regulations require that the computer be purchased in advance. The student must provide Emerson with the receipts of purchase before any adjustments can be considered. For further details, contact the Office of Financial Aid.